Beginning and development of the
Gmilat Chesed [Loan society] in Sosnowiec {Cont.}

The Jewish community considered the Mutual Assistance Fund an important
organization, and decided to assume the necessary financial obligation. The
community assured the Fund that it would cover the shortage of funds that were
supposed to be deposited in the amount of 30,000 guilden. Indeed, the community
paid out to the Fund the sum of 13,600 guilden over a period of five years.
Thus, the Fund was clear of all debts by 1932. At first the Jewish borrowers
hesitated to take loans from the Fund. Slowly, the word spread that the Fund
provided non-interest loans without connections and guarantors. The Jewish
artisans and small merchants began to flock to the Fund where they were treated
as independent individuals and received non-interest loans without fuss. In
this fashion did the Fund grow and develop to become an important economic
institution in Sosnowiec.

The punctuality and the excellent bookkeeping gave the Fund an excellent
financial reputation. During 11 years of activities, the Fund dealt with 24,000
people (8,000 borrowers and 16,000 endorsers) and had a turnover of 250,000
guilden. During the period in question, the Fund lost only 4,000 guilden,
approximately 4 tenths of a percent. We must stress that the amounts lost were
due to frozen accounts, borrowers or cases where endorsers died and the courts
froze the assets. Could any financial organization match such record? Given the
difficult economic situation, the Fund really performed wonderful deeds.

Gerszon Stawski

Chairman of the building fund committee at Cekabe in Sosnowiec,
and vice-chairman of the Zionist organization. Fellow organizer of the
Zionist organization in Sosnowiec, member of the Odesser committee
1896-1914, delegate to the 6th Zionist Congress in Basel 1903,
chairman of Hazamir during its existence1908-1912, member of the
Ika committee 1908-1914.Published a series of literary and topical
articles in Yiddish and Hebrew publications.

We have to remember that the administration of the Fund and the maintenance of
the office were paid by the Jewish community in Sosnowiec. The same procedure
was followed in other Polish cities. The Sosnowiec Jewish kehila paid the
office rent, the electricity, the heating, the office supplies, and a large
part of the salaries of the staff and so on. These subsidies reduced the budget
of the Fund by 2,000 guilden by 1932. In addition the Fund was provided with
13,600 guilden by the community. Up to this point, we can describe the
situation as the good period. Then started the difficult situation; the
community stopped subsidizing the Fund, except for a contribution of 200
guilden in 1936 under Tenczer's administration.

Izrael Michael Berkowicz

Co-founder of the Mutual Assistance Fund
and its honorary treasurer for many years.

The Fund no longer received community subsidies and had to curtail its
activities. The loss of subsidies and the fall of repayments from 700 guilden
to 200 guilden per month greatly reduced the available cash flow of the Fund.
It tried to maintain the budget, but it had difficulties, for it could not
increase its capital fund due to the difficult economic situation in the
country. We now reach the last and most painful chapter of the Fund, notably
the present operations.

[Page 248]

The Jewish population had doubled since the Fund was created but the income of
the community of Sosnowiec declined. The Fund was unable to meet all the
requests for loans and the Joint informed the local office that it
could not increase the funding. The Jewish community of Sosnowiec needed to
increase the funds available to the Fund in order to meet the increasing
demands for loans. But the well-to-do sections of the Jewish community kept a
distance from the needs of the Mutual Assistance Fund; the need of help did not
affect them. They had no sympathy for the poor and struggling artisans and
small merchants. This attitude forced the Sosnowiec fund to reduce the number
of loans. Still the option remained to undertake a large-scale publicity
campaign to awaken the Jewish citizenry to the desperate need for funds in
order to help the impoverished artisans and small merchants.

Today the Fund has 600 borrowers and 500 late payers who are behind in their
repayment schedule.

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